The Gringo's Hawk

This American author has spent thirty years in the rainforests of Costa Rica documenting the challenges and triumphs of his attempts to make an environmentally conscious sustainable living in this paradise. Jon Maranon offers a unique first-person account of nature and persons in conflict and the difficulties of meshing human existence into the once pristine rainforests of Costa Rica. His work promotes reader awareness of the natural environment, wildlife, ecosystems, and socioculture of this remote area of Costa Rica. Ecology and spirituality intertwine as he describes his journey in a mix of naturalist and lyrical prose that, along with humor and introspection, mark the style of The Gringo's Hawk.

Jon Maranon (a nom de plume) has lived a remarkable life against which many readers will find themselves measuring their own lives. He came of age in America during the turbulent 1960s of Civil Rights marches and opposition to the Vietnam War. He always felt himself to be a poor fit for the consumerism/materialism, conformity, racism, and environmental destructiveness of his own country. A college psychologist told him he'd have to learn to adjust, but he persisted in seeking a place where, and people with whom, he might fit. This young, blond, blue-eyed college dropout became a Latin American landowner and patrón. He tried numerous schemes to make a living off the land and became a significant observer of both the environmental and social changes in Costa Rica. Maranon listened to local elders tell tales about them, and he passes on some of these and other tales to readers.